UNO Nabs Coach And Rookie Of The Year Honors
Mar 16, 2005 | Hockey
DETROIT, Mich. - This evening at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, MI, the Nebraska-Omaha hockey team brought home two major awards when head coach Mike Kemp was named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year and freshman forward Bill Thomas earned CCHA Rookie of the Year honors.
Kemp, who has a 124-155-31 career record heading into Thursday's quarterfinal game with Michigan State, has led UNO to their third trip to the CCHA Championships at Joe Louis Arena in six seasons as a league member. His 2004-2005 team matched its best finish (4th) in the CCHA, which took place back in 2000-2001.
UNO (19-15-4, 13-11-4) has had a remarkable turnaround from a year ago. In 2003-2004, UNO finished 12th in the CCHA with 14 conference points. The Mavs nearly pulled off a first round playoff upset at Michigan but finished the year 8-26-5 overall and 5-19-4 in the CCHA. This season, UNO doubled its conference point total from a year ago with 30 points and are guaranteed a winning season for the third time in program history, after preseason polls had the Mavs tabbed for last place in the CCHA this season.
Bill Thomas (Pittsburgh, PA) is the first Maverick to win the CCHA's Rookie of the Year accolade. Thomas, who paced the nation's freshmen with 45 points (19-26-45), was named the CCHA's Rookie of the Week on three different occasions and was also named to both the All-CCHA Second Team and All-CCHA Rookie squad, respectively. He has 13 multiple-point games this season, and is heading into the CCHA Super 6 on a five-game point streak.
Kemp, who has a 124-155-31 career record heading into Thursday's quarterfinal game with Michigan State, has led UNO to their third trip to the CCHA Championships at Joe Louis Arena in six seasons as a league member. His 2004-2005 team matched its best finish (4th) in the CCHA, which took place back in 2000-2001.
UNO (19-15-4, 13-11-4) has had a remarkable turnaround from a year ago. In 2003-2004, UNO finished 12th in the CCHA with 14 conference points. The Mavs nearly pulled off a first round playoff upset at Michigan but finished the year 8-26-5 overall and 5-19-4 in the CCHA. This season, UNO doubled its conference point total from a year ago with 30 points and are guaranteed a winning season for the third time in program history, after preseason polls had the Mavs tabbed for last place in the CCHA this season.
Bill Thomas (Pittsburgh, PA) is the first Maverick to win the CCHA's Rookie of the Year accolade. Thomas, who paced the nation's freshmen with 45 points (19-26-45), was named the CCHA's Rookie of the Week on three different occasions and was also named to both the All-CCHA Second Team and All-CCHA Rookie squad, respectively. He has 13 multiple-point games this season, and is heading into the CCHA Super 6 on a five-game point streak.
Players Mentioned
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